As an ex 2013 Tumblr teenager, The Wombats’ fifth studio album, Fix Yourself, Not the World, released on January 7th 14th, is one of my most anticipated 2022 releases. The Wombats formed in their native Liverpool in 2003 and have been a pillar of indie rock for the past 2 decades with no signs of faltering. Unlike many of their fellow 10’s alt rock bands, The Wombats are actually gaining traction with younger generations – Greek Tragedy (2015), Kill the Director (2007), Let’s Dance to Joy Division (2007), and Line Without a Hook (2016) have all gone viral on TikTok in the past two years.
Despite (or perhaps in ignorance of) their expansion into a new and younger audience, Fix Yourself, Not the World is The Wombats’ most authentic album in a decade. After experimenting with a more pop-y sound on Glitterbug (2015), The Wombats seemed to lose their footing. Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018), aside from Turn and Lethal Combination, was ultimately disappointing. Luckily for fans (old and new), Matthew Murphy (frontman and guitarist), Tord Øverland Knudson (bassist), and Dan Haggis (drummer) seem to have found themselves again.
Fix Yourself, Not the World is a true pandemic-era album; recorded from three different cities (LA, Oslo, and London) with the help of 5 different producers. Murphey, the band’s primary songwriter, pulls two years of quarantine, political unrest, and personal adversity into 41 incredibly relatable (but not too on-the-nose) minutes. This is a record that will outlast the uncertainty that inspired it.
“Method to the Madness” , the first single off Fix Yourself, Not the World, was released in May followed by If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You, Ready for the High, and Everything I Love Is Going to Die. The Wombats have already seen industry success with ” If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You ” – the single, inspired by the pandemic’s pressure on relationships, was nominated for Radio X Record of the Year and was BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds Hottest Record in the World.
